by Kathy Terrill | May 27, 2018 | eCommerce Tips
The eBay Summer Seller Update for 2018 is out. Like most of the seller updates, it’s a mixed bag.
You may have quite a bit of work ahead with the eBay Summer Seller Update.
To begin, the eBay Summer Seller Update is in four sections. They are Inventory Optimization, eBay Stores, Selling Metrics and Shipping and Returns. I will address key facts that impact the majority of people. I encourage you to read the entire update.
So, in Inventory Optimization, four categories now have mandatory item specifics.
The four are Coins, Comics, Pottery & Glass and Tires. In light of this, note what categories you sell in. Many sellers have Pottery & Glass listings. Look to start implementing the mandatory changes now. Be ready for the July 31, 2018 deadline. Furthermore, study the product categories that must list with Product Pages. I break down key points in the entire update for you HERE.
Equally important are the impacted categories of cardio equipment, cell phones, and smartphones. Included are computers/tablets, networking tablets, and ebook readers. Also counted are humidifiers, internet & media streamers and major appliances. Portable fans, programmable thermostat, and small kitchen appliances join the list. Space heaters, TV video, and home audio are included. As are internet and media streamer, TV’s, and voice-enabled home assistants too. More details on these changes are HERE.
Now, the next part of the seller update is for eBay store owners.
So, if you use the sales function of Promotions Manager and Sales event, heads up.
Items must be listed on eBay for a minimum of 14 days before they can be put on sale. I detail this new policy and other eBay Summer Seller Update facts in my YouTube Stop The Drowning.
http://https://youtu.be/6-XxWo1ejSg
Furthermore, Seller Metrics and Shipping will have new features.
With a few exceptions, as of June 25 sellers will need to list with zip codes. Additionally, in July eBay will add new seller metric data to Seller Hub. Sellers will be shown how they compare to other sellers in key data. The focus seems to be on returns. Of course, data is welcome. Let’s see if this will be helpful information. eBay will need to tightly compare apples to apples to give sellers data that’s useful. eBay Radio has great information on this and entire update HERE.
Good and bad news for sellers on Returns!
So, eBay is moving ahead with only five return policies allowed. There are a few exceptions. eBay makes it easier for buyers to return. A simplified return process will be in place. In light of this, sellers need to select an approved policy. If they don’t pick one, one will be assigned. Details are HERE.
In closing, sellers have work to do.
Goal Of eBay Summer Seller Update – Sales!
Studying the update, look at the categories you sell in. Are you impacted by the changes? Look at your returns policies. Are they compliant with eBay’s new standards? Starting in July, look at your new return seller metrics. Comparatively, how do you stack up? The update points sellers to data and policy compliance. The end goal is more sales from more shoppers. Now, that’s certainly welcome news to sellers!
by Kathy Terrill | May 12, 2018 | Selling on eBay
Did you know that you have an eBay superpower for sales?
So, are you searching for your eBay superpower? Certainly, sales can get slow. Moreover, it can be a daunting task to stay on top of what works to get sales. By and large many sellers are solopreneurs. So, it’s just you running your online business. You read of sellers with six-figure businesses within three months of starting to sell. You’ll scratch your head and wonder, “What is their eBay superpower? And where is mine?”
There are only so many hours in the day.
We all have different life circumstances. In light of that, know the givens in your life. Are you a single Mom? Moreover, do you have physical limitations? Do you have a full-time job? So, are you working a part-time job? Do you live in a rural area? Are you homeschooling? The list goes on and on. If you are a part-time seller, it will frustrate you to compare yourself to a fulltime seller. Moreover, if you are taking care of elderly relatives, your needs are different than a parent with young kids.
eBay Sellers don’t let your day run away from you!
To begin, what are the absolutes in your life?
Note the commitments that must be met daily, weekly or monthly. Put them on a paper calendar or virtual calendar. Next, examine your online business. What are the details of your selling? They may include listing, buying inventory, taking pictures, shipping, ordering supplies, banking etc. Be sure to write all your tasks down. Now with all things considered, what needs to be done daily, weekly and or monthly?
My YouTube Your eBay Superpower For Sales guides you through this process.
In light of what is immovable in your schedule, set up when you’ll do your selling tasks. Chose when you’ll shop for inventory, ship, do product research and more. Some folks love using a paper calendar. I use Google Calendar. I put all my tasks on it. Furthermore, I set up alerts to remind to do my business tasks. Google calendar also has a smartphone app. Google calendar is free. To access it you need a Gmail account. There is no charge for Gmail.
When you are working on larger tasks, organizers like Slack and Asana are invaluable.
Sellers can manage projects with these tools and stay on track when making plans. Organizers are great for tracking progress when researching new inventory. They could also be used to plan expansion onto a new selling platform. For simple note taking, pen and paper work great. The app Evernote is also awesome. It also syncs across platforms. There is a free version.
In closing, your superpower starts with knowing the “must dos” in your schedule.
Then you build your business tasks around that. Your eBay superpower is YOU. You create your schedule. You manage your business. You find inventory, pack and ship it. You find classes and experts to help you better your business. It’s YOU. There is no magic pill for success. It is all about you putting in the work. Of course, there are bumps in the road. Being surrounded by like-minded sellers is a huge help. My members only Social Media Insiders is a power-packed home for sellers getting results. Another place winning sellers congregate, is my Facebook group eBay Selling Basics Nothing But Selling Basics.
Finally, you are your superpower for sales.
Plan and then work your plan. If sales are slow, be willing to learn and grow. Ask for help in my Facebook group eBay Selling Basics Nothing But Selling Basics. You may have missed a recent update that impacts your listings. Never give up. Success is right around the corner.
by Kathy Terrill | Apr 3, 2018 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay, Social Media Tips
Twitter schedule tools save eBay sellers precious time.
There are never enough hours in the day for eBay sellers. Time savers are a must for successful sellers. Social media schedulers are crucial. To set up social media on Twitter and Facebook, there are free schedulers like Hootsuite and Buffer. Content must be continually added to these tools. I have recently discovered a set it and forget it Twitter scheduler, TweetEye.( my affiliate link). TweetEye has a free version. TweetEye sets itself apart from other auto schedulers. It’s in a class by iteself, as it has features that minimize the sameness of its tweets.
First of all, set it and forget it Twitter schedulers are a gigantic help for sellers.
They have the capability of pushing fresh content out on social media with minimal upkeep. Twitter is a great way to quickly reveal products to shoppers on social media. The challenge with using Twitter, and other social media, is the time it takes to set them up.
So, enter the solution, ( my affiliate ink) TweetEye. To use TweetEye, you’ll set up an account. Then link your social media. eBay and Etsy accounts can be synched into the tool. There is no need to have an eBay store to link your account. Once set up, click the eBay toggle.
Be sure to use the Keyword function in TweetEye. (Picture courtesy of TweetEye)
Next, you want to select a keyword to sort listings. This is very important. When you select a keyword, TweetEye will pull all your listings with that keyword.
A keyword could be dress, red, shirt, mug, winter etc.
You want to select something fairly broad and that has more than 10 listings. Once set up, as items sell from this matchup, TweetEye will replace with another item. It “refills” the schedule for you. There is no need to continually tweet items. Your TweetEye scheduler will do it for you.
Use numerous schedules to tweet your inventory. You can have one keyword dress schedule, one shirt schedule, one baseball schedule etc. It’s up to you. So, set up schedules with keywords that categorize your listings. Then let TweetEye do the work for you.
TweetEye does your tweets for you!
Once you’ve chosen your keyword, you’ll select the number of items to share. You can pick from one to ten. More than four is best. Next, select your Twitter account. After that, you can attach a bitly account. Now you’ve arrived at selecting your call to action. These are terrific. Call to actions are attached at the end of your tweet. They add variety to your social media. Pick the ones best suited to your items. After selecting your call to action be sure to check the Market Research box. Market Research uses algorithms of what is trending on social media to select the best hashtags for your Tweets.
Call to actions keep your tweets from being monotonous.
Market Trends takes the guesswork out of hashtag selection. Finally, when selecting the time your schedule will post, select a long post delay. I like five minutes. I want my tweets spread out.
Use this complimentary guide from TweetEye to set up your schedule. It takes only minutes. One pro tip. On the page for Market Intelligence UNCHECK show image. When checked TweetEye pulls the image from the RSS feed. It usually looks awful. When unchecked, your image comes from your listing.
Crafting individual tweets and uploading pictures to Hootsuite, Buffer and similar schedulers is great. If you have the time to customize your Twitter, do so. Using TweetEye (my affiliate link) you can run numerous schedules that operate on their own. Set up properly the schedule(s) will continuously pull product posts and tweet them. Occasionally it’s wise to live tweet. My Essential Social Media Cheat Sheet is loaded with ideas you’ll want to use. Twitter is great to push out a lot of product. Search engines can pick up your products from Twitter and help customers find you.
In closing, sellers are very busy.
Tools that save sellers time are not to be overlooked.
TweetEye (my affiliate link) completely automates eBay product posts to Twitter. Many auto-schedulers are very spammy and boring. They spew out, Here’s my newest thing over and over. Who wants to read that? With customized calls to action and market watch hashtags, TweetEye avoids that. Best of all, it has a complimentary version. Let’s get tweeting!
by Kathy Terrill | Mar 27, 2018 | eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
eBay Guaranteed Delivery program recently messaged a lot of USA sellers notices. Heads up, sellers. Pay attention to this winning program.
Promotional Tools Attract Shoppers!
eBay sellers want sales. First of all, many factors go into attracting customers. Start with optimized listings, with great pictures and keywords. With an eBay store, sellers access exclusive promotional tools. These are Promotions Manager, Promoted Listings, and Sale Events.
So, what if a seller does not have a store? What options do they have?
Especially relevant is social media. Done right, it attracts shoppers. My Essential Social Media Cheat Sheet offers proven strategies to win in social media. Your complimentary copy is right HERE.
There is an eBay program that offers sellers a boost in sales with or without an eBay store!
Furthermore, it carries no additional fees to sellers. It is eBay’s Guaranteed Delivery program. Dotcom Distribution did a recent survey. It found 87% of shoppers look to fast delivery as key to their decision to buy. So, Guaranteed Delivery gives online consumers what they want. To qualify for Guaranteed Delivery, listings must have same or one business day handling. In addition, a return policy and immediate payment are mandated. Also, sellers must have a record of shipping on time, with great customer service. They DO NOT need to have a store to qualify! HERE are the eligibility requirements in detail. You can print labels with eBay shipping and other services, including Stamps.com. (My affiliate link)
So, once accepted into the program, listings that comply are automatically enrolled. This a total win for sellers. This is why. Shoppers are offered Guaranteed Delivery items in several filters. One is a three-day delivery toggle. Additionally, this toggle shows on devices and computers at the top of product search.
Guaranteed Delivery is featured to buyers! (image from eBay)
So, there are also one to four-day delivery filters for shipping options on computers. Furthermore, these filters are at the top of the filter section. Simply, only Guaranteed Delivery listings show in the filters. So, once in Guaranteed Delivery, qualifying listings appear in more eBay search placements. There is no additional fee to the seller for this added exposure.
My YouTube video, eBay Guaranteed Delivery –The Good, The Bad, The Ugly details the benefits of Guaranteed Delivery. In addition, it includes some bonus search tips.
In conclusion, Guaranteed Delivery is the seller’s best friend.
It has no additional seller fees. Furthermore, it’s a home run with added search benefits. So, if you’re not in now, watch your eBay messages. While waiting, get your listings ready. Once in, enjoy the added search exposure and sales!
by Kathy Terrill | Feb 28, 2018 | eCommerce News, eCommerce Selling Tips, eCommerce Tips, Selling on eBay
eBay’s Spring Seller Update 2018 is out. Like all of eBay’s updates, there is terrific news for sellers. And, there is also some very painful information.
To begin, under the leadership of CEO Devin Wenig, eBay continues major upgrades.
As announced in 2015, massive structured data and Artificial Intelligence initiatives are unfolding. Product search is now more intuitive. There is a more fluid shopping experience to capture and please internet shoppers.
Shoppers want fast shipping.
Also, consumers want to easily discover products they want to buy. In addition, they want a frictionless returns. eBay is giving it to them.
Guaranteed Shipping will be rolling out to many sellers in March. It is popular with consumers looking to know exactly when their purchase will arrive. Qualifying seller’s listings are displayed under different arrival date filters. It costs sellers nothing to be included. Consumers love it. It’s a win-win. In addition, there will be a robust shipping area for sellers. Graphics and shipping options will be clearer. This looks to streamline shipping, saving users precious time.
eBay’s Promoted Listings will appear on the homepage!
Promoted Listings appear many places on the eBay site. What’s exciting to sellers is that there will now be a placement on the main eBay landing page. Now more than ever Promoted Listings is essential to qualifying Top Rated sellers and all store owners. Use my complimentary guide, to ignite your sales with Promoted Listings.
The catalog is evolving. This is no surprise to anyone following Devin Wenig’s numerous speeches speaking to upgrades to the shopping experience on the platform. 14 categories are now mandated to use the catalog.
So, with the changes in categories, sellers can look to improved item specifics.
As you see shifts in impacted eBay selling categories, take advantage. If eBay is adding item specifics, it’s because shoppers are using those in search. Fill them in and reap the search benefits,
Look for a makeover in eBay stores. As of May 1, a Starter level store will be offered below the Basic Store. Very large vendors can select an Enterprise store. Sellers can downgrade to a Starter Store with no penalties if they do so during the month of May 2018. Fee increases are planned for Basic stores and sellers with no stores, All store levels are promised a new more mobile friendly look soon. The new look will somewhat mirror the buyer experience on the home page. All of this offers sellers more choices for their businesses. My video breaks it all down for you.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWdRoZjzJUw
Yes, the pain is real.
eBay return policies are updated. Gone are numerous choices for returns. As of May 2018, there are five choices for sellers. Of the five, only two will qualify to receive the Top Rated Plus discount. Those are 30 day free returns and 60 day free returns. The restocking fee option is gone. My complimentary guide Spring Seller Update 2108 breaks all this down for you. I have several solutions for sellers who use restocking fees. Included are Pro Tips to maximize sales with changes the update brings.
Sellers are hit in their wallets.
If they want their Top rated Plus discount, they must pay for returns. So, to minimize the pain, sellers can select different return policies for different items. There is no need to offer free returns on all items. If you have very few returns, offering free returns has no impact. So, why not do it? If you sell products with a high return rate, consider if the discount outweighs the cost to your business. Chose what works for you.
Implement multiple return policies, if that’s the wisest choice for you.
In conclusion, the shopping experience on eBay is more intuitive and mobile friendly. Shipping is having awesome upgrades. Promoted listings get the coveted landing page placement. Stores get a makeover and include new levels. Fees increase. Returns are simplified. With new return policies, sellers make the difficult choice of whether to offer free returns.
eBay’s Spring Seller Update of 2018 is packed with good news of exciting upgrades. It also comes the real pain of free returns. This is an update for businesses to crunch their numbers and test. Use the data my Spring Seller Update Guide offers.
Each seller is wise to watch their sales numbers and returns. Looking at this key data, savvy sellers can have their online sales soar.
